It's vacation time for all us poor tired souls.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
SWEET TEA
Do you take your tea sweet or not? Cold or hot? Sweet tea is a Southern staple, our Mamas put it in our bottles when we're wee babes and the addiction starts there. Go up north and the yankees swear that you're ruining a good thing. Seems that everyone everywhere has an opinion; but we Southerners will fight to the death over how to properly prepare and serve tea.
I just had to share this article, AMERICANS AT THE TABLE: REFLECTIONS ON FOOD AND CULTURE (it's kinda long but it tickled both my funny bone and my interest). I ran across this culinary tale in E Journal, USA:U.S. Society & Values, put out by the U.S. Dept. of State/Bureau of International Information Programs.
Damn, that's quite a mouthful!
You should go and read the whole paper, it's got tons of recipes and history about how different foods became staples in the USA.
The author, though a native of the American South,disdains the region’s signature liquid refreshment, iced tea. He sees perversity behind the popularity of the highly sweetened drink, which he calls an “insipid banality,” but that doesn’t stop him from offering the reader guidance on how to prepare it.
I just had to share this article, AMERICANS AT THE TABLE: REFLECTIONS ON FOOD AND CULTURE (it's kinda long but it tickled both my funny bone and my interest). I ran across this culinary tale in E Journal, USA:U.S. Society & Values, put out by the U.S. Dept. of State/Bureau of International Information Programs.
Damn, that's quite a mouthful!
You should go and read the whole paper, it's got tons of recipes and history about how different foods became staples in the USA.
INCLUDE ME OUT:
A REFLECTION ON “ICE TEA"
by FRED CHAPPELL
The author, though a native of the American South,disdains the region’s signature liquid refreshment, iced tea. He sees perversity behind the popularity of the highly sweetened drink, which he calls an “insipid banality,” but that doesn’t stop him from offering the reader guidance on how to prepare it.
"There are people who eat cold pasta salad. They enjoy despoiling their greenery with gummy, tasteless squiggles of tough, damp bread dough that are usually made palatable only when heavily disguised with hot tomato sauce and a stiff mask of Parmesan cheese. This salad does have the virtue of economy. Wednesday leftovers can be marketed to Thursday customers of perverse taste.
It is probably perversity also that accounts for the prevalence of ice tea in our American south. It was Edgar Allan Poe who first diagnosed this immitigable contrariness of human nature in his short story, The Imp of the Perverse, and he undoubtedly saw it as a normal trait of Dixie character. But please include me out. I am one southerner who detests that dirty water the color of oak-leaf tannin and its insipid banality. When I am offered ice tea by one of our charming southern hostesses, I know I’m in for a long afternoon of hearing about Cousin Mary Alice’s new babe and its genius antics in the playpen.
Hot tea makes sense. It can relax as well as stimulate and in fact may be sipped as a soporific. It can offer a bouquet pungent or delicate and causes us to understand why the Chinese designated certain strains of flowers as “tea roses.” It can be a topic of conversation, too, as southerners revive the traditional English debate as to whether the boiling water should be brought to the pot or the pot fetched to the water. Such palaver reassures us that all traces of civilization have not disappeared under the onslaughts of video games and e-mail.
But if you ice the stuff down it cannot matter in the least whether the water or the pot has journeyed. Any trace of the tea’s bouquet is slaughtered and only additives can give this tarnished liquid any aroma at all. There is, of course, plenty of discussion about these added condiments. Even the mildest of southern ladies may bristle and lapse into demotic speech when they consider that a glass of ice tea
has been improperly prepared.
Notice that we say, “ice tea.” Anyone who pronounces the successive dentals of “iced tea” is regarded as pretentious. And if you say “Coca-Cola” you will be seen as putting on airs, just as obviously as if you employed “you” as a collective pronoun. Down here we say “you-all,” “CoCola,” and “ice tea” and collect monetary fines from strangers who misspeak. Ignorance before the law is no excuse.
.
In recent years some enterprising women have seen the futility of the pot/water controversy and have begun making “sun tea,” a beverage that is never acquainted with either stove or teapot. They simply fill a gallon jug with water, drop in a flock of tea bags, and set the collocation out on the back porch to brew in the broiling August sunshine. If this method does not make the kitchen more cheerful, it does at least lessen the hypocritical chatter about proper procedure. Ice cannot harm sun tea; it is created beyond the reach of harm or help.
Now as to the recipe for ice tea: Lemons are essential and should be of the big thick-skinned variety, cut into sixths. They are never – repeat: never – squeezed but only plumped into the pitcher, four or five slices. Extra slices are offered on a cut-glass plate six inches in diameter. Mint may be added, but it is always submerged in the pitcher and never put into a glass where it would glue to the interior side like a Harley-Davidson decal.
And sweetening is the soul of this potation. The sugar bowl passes from hand to hand at a pace so dizzying it is like watching the rotating label on an old 78-rpm record. Southerners demand sweetness. The truly thoughtful hostess shall have already sweetened the tea for her guests with a simple sugar syrup that excludes the possibility of unpleasant graininess from bowl sugar. Sugar syrup for ice tea is concocted by adding one pound of Dixie Crystal sugar to a tablespoon of water. In the south sweetened ice tea is taken for granted, like the idea that stock car racing is our national pastime and that the Southern Baptist church is a legitimate arm of the Republican Party.
If you order ice tea in a restaurant it will arrive pre-sweetened. If you want it unsweetened you must ask for it. Actually, you must demand it with pistol drawn and cocked. And you will have to repeat your demand several times, because tea unsweetened is as abstruse a proposition to most servers as a theorem of Boolean algebra. Even then you can’t be sure. My wife Susan once ordered unsweetened, but it arrived as sweet as honey. The waitress pleaded for understanding. “We couldn’t figure out how to get the sugar out,” she said.
Why southerners are so sugar-fixated may be a mystery, but it is an indisputable fact. We are a breed who makes marmalades of zucchini, tomatoes, onions, and even watermelon rinds. Our famous pecan pie (“puhKAWN pah”) is a stiff but sticky paste of boiled Karo corn syrup studded with nuts. Since this is not sweet enough, it will likely be served with a gob of bourbon whipped cream dusted with cocoa powder and decorated with vegetable-peeler curls of milk chocolate.
“Do you want ice tea with that?”
“Oh yes. Sweetened, please.”
Well, I’ll confess that, though born in North Carolina, I make a poor example of a southerner. I don’t even capitalize the name of the region. I’m a Democrat, a non-Baptist, and don’t care what kind of car I drive. To me, adding broiled marshmallows to yams is like putting raspberry jam on porterhouse. I once spotted a recipe in the magazine Southern Living for CoCola cake and had to fight down a surge of nausea. I flee as if pursued from fatback, spoon bread, barbecue, grits, and – ice tea.
Susan tells me I need sweetening.
Fred Chappell is a professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and is North Carolina’s Poet Laureate. He has written numerous books of poetry and fiction, including First and Last Words, Midquest, More Shapes than One, Brighten the Corner Where You Are, and I Am One of You Forever.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
CHEYENNE CHERRY-SERIAL KILLER IN TRAINING
Only in New York could a 17 year old girl - in just 24 months time: steal an I-Pod at gun point, steal a dog at gun point and ransom it, assault a small child - and get off with only a slap on the wrist each time. THEN CHEYENNE CHERRY COOKS A LIVE KITTEN TO DEATH IN A HOT OVEN AND GETS OFF WITH NO TIME IN JAIL, AGAIN!
What are these judges thinking and where are her parents? Cheyenne Cherry's only defense was "it was a joke". My Mom and Dad would have skinned me alive for animal cruelty and they would have flat out killed me (actually, they would have made me wish I was dead) for any kind of robbery, much less armed thuggery. I would have had to beg the cops to keep me in jail, because that would have been safer than going home!
I hope Cheyenne Cherry rots in hell; but I bet before that happens does she'll become one of the few female serial killers or at the very least a child abuser. It's obvious that this teenage she-devil has no morals, no feelings and no sense of right or wrong. Lets hope she never procreates, any child sentenced to have her for a mother wouldn't stand a chance.
I don't think therapy will help this monster and death's too good for her. She should be locked up for the rest of her life so that other's can rest a little easier. You can tell her what you think about her at her MySpace page:
Cheyenne Cherry myspace: http://www.myspace.com/shortypopoff11
A Bronx teenager roasted her ex-roommate's kitten to death in a stove - then brushed off the incident as a joke when she was busted, authorities said Thursday. "I hate cats," Cheyenne Cherry, 17, allegedly told investigators when asked about the heartless crime ........ in a shocking act of animal abuse, they tossed the woman's kitten, Tiger Lily, into the stove and cranked up the temperature ....... the kitten was burned so badly a necropsy had to be performed to determine its sex.
What are these judges thinking and where are her parents? Cheyenne Cherry's only defense was "it was a joke". My Mom and Dad would have skinned me alive for animal cruelty and they would have flat out killed me (actually, they would have made me wish I was dead) for any kind of robbery, much less armed thuggery. I would have had to beg the cops to keep me in jail, because that would have been safer than going home!
I hope Cheyenne Cherry rots in hell; but I bet before that happens does she'll become one of the few female serial killers or at the very least a child abuser. It's obvious that this teenage she-devil has no morals, no feelings and no sense of right or wrong. Lets hope she never procreates, any child sentenced to have her for a mother wouldn't stand a chance.
I don't think therapy will help this monster and death's too good for her. She should be locked up for the rest of her life so that other's can rest a little easier. You can tell her what you think about her at her MySpace page:
Cheyenne Cherry myspace: http://www.myspace.com/shortypopoff11
Friday, June 05, 2009
45 LIFE LESSONS
Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:
1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone...
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first pay check.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, and wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion,Today is special.
22. Over prepare, and then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone and everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give it time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now..
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42.. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."
1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone...
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first pay check.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, and wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion,Today is special.
22. Over prepare, and then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone and everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give it time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now..
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42.. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
BORROWED POEM
Things Every Woman Should Have and Should Know
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
enough money within her control to move
enough money within her control to move
rent a place of her own,
even if she never wants to or needs to...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
something perfect to wear if the employer,
or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ..
a youth she's content to leave behind....
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to
retelling it in her old age...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .....
a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
one friend who always makes her laugh...
and one who lets her cry..
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....
a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal,
that will make her guests feel honored...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
a feeling of control over her destiny..
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to fall in love without losing herself..
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to quit a job,break up with a lover,
and confront a friend without;
ruining the friendship...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW..
when to try harder...
and WHEN TO WALK AWAY...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that she can't change the length of her calves,
the width of her hips,
or the nature of her parents..
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that her childhood may not have been perfect...
but its over...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW..
what she would and wouldn't do for love or more...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to live alone...
even if she doesn't like it...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW.. ..
whom she can trust,
whom she can't,
and why she shouldn't take it personally...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
where to go...
be it to her best friend's kitchen table..
or a charming inn in the woods...
when her soul needs soothing...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she can and can't accomplish in a day...
a month...
and a year...
This lovely work was written by:Pamela Redmond Satranhttp://www.pamelaredmondsatran.com/articles.php
See an article Pamela wrote on the Huffington Post about this subject.
Author Pam Satran
What Women Should Know About Men
1. If you think the way to a man's heart is through his stomach you're aiming to high.
2. Women don't make fools of men -- most of them are the do-it-yourself types.
3. The best reason to divorce a man is a health reason: you've got sick of him.
4. Never trust a man who says he's the boss at home. He probaly lies about other things too.
5. A woman's work that is never done, is the stuff she asked her husband to do.
6. If you want a nice man go for a bald one -- they try harder.
7. Go for younger men. You might as well -- they never mature anyway.
8. There are only two four letter words that are offensive to men -- "don't" and "stop" (but not used together).
9. Men are all the same -- they just have different faces so you can tell them apart.
10. Definition of a man with manners -- he gets out of the bath to pee.
11. Whenever you meet a man who would make a good husband, you will usually find that he is.
12. Scientists have just discovered something that can do the work of five men -- a women.
13. There are a lot of words you can use to describe men -- strong, caring, loving -- they'd be wrong but you could still use them!
14. Men are like animals -- messy, insensitive and potentially violent -- but they make great pets!
15. Mens brains are like the prison system -- not enough cells per man.
16. Husbands are like children -- they're fine if they're someone else's.
2. Women don't make fools of men -- most of them are the do-it-yourself types.
3. The best reason to divorce a man is a health reason: you've got sick of him.
4. Never trust a man who says he's the boss at home. He probaly lies about other things too.
5. A woman's work that is never done, is the stuff she asked her husband to do.
6. If you want a nice man go for a bald one -- they try harder.
7. Go for younger men. You might as well -- they never mature anyway.
8. There are only two four letter words that are offensive to men -- "don't" and "stop" (but not used together).
9. Men are all the same -- they just have different faces so you can tell them apart.
10. Definition of a man with manners -- he gets out of the bath to pee.
11. Whenever you meet a man who would make a good husband, you will usually find that he is.
12. Scientists have just discovered something that can do the work of five men -- a women.
13. There are a lot of words you can use to describe men -- strong, caring, loving -- they'd be wrong but you could still use them!
14. Men are like animals -- messy, insensitive and potentially violent -- but they make great pets!
15. Mens brains are like the prison system -- not enough cells per man.
16. Husbands are like children -- they're fine if they're someone else's.
Monday, May 18, 2009
NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS
I came home from work and mowed 1/2 the yard, the sun went down before I could get finished. But the sun is shining and Friday when I finally get a day off it's supposed to rain so I have to "make hay while the sun shines" as it were.
I'm supposed to have the weekend off (crosses fingers) so maybe I'll have something to blog about. The roller derby is in Huntsville and I'd like to go, maybe the Gods will smile on me and I'll get to have some live entertainment.
I'm supposed to have the weekend off (crosses fingers) so maybe I'll have something to blog about. The roller derby is in Huntsville and I'd like to go, maybe the Gods will smile on me and I'll get to have some live entertainment.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDER
Finally, a day off and the sun is shining! It seems like it's been raining forever, and the weatherman says that it's gonna rain again tomorrow. I managed to get the jungle that passes for a lawn mowed; I had to go over it twice and still there's stalks of grass that defied my poor tired old mower. At least now you can see the rose that managed to bloom in the midst of the knee high weeds/grass.
I don't have anything to blog about, all work and no play makes for a dull Junebugg.
I don't have anything to blog about, all work and no play makes for a dull Junebugg.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
BAD ASS
This happened not far from where I live, that's what I call one bad ass. From the Florence Times Daily, Farm Animal Believed To Have Killed 6' Alligator. ROGERSVILLE - Jay Cornelius knew his family's donkeys and mules are fearless when it comes to protecting the horses they share a pasture with, but he never dreamed they would take on an alligator.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
BRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
What ever happened to summer? After weeks of weather in the 70s; everyone wearing tank tops and flip flops, its frigging cold! The radio said it was in the 20s when I left work this morning with threats of snow flurries today and tonight. It’s almost Easter, this is Alabama for Pete’s sake; it’s supposed to be warm and Good Friday is the traditional day to plant your garden. All the trees are budding, the fruit trees are in full bloom and now they’ll all get frost bitten and there go the fruit crops.
Cold or not, I’m off for the next few days and I’ve got tons of stuff to do. One of the need-to-dos is the yard but that’s gotta wait until the temp rises a few degrees. My new dog (that I rescued from the truck stop parking lot near work) has dragged home all the neighbors’ garbage. He doesn’t get in my trash, just collects stray shoes and clothing and cans from somewhere else and brings it to me. Maybe he thinks that I need more stuff or else it’s all supposed to be presents. Who knows what goes on in his adorable pointy little head?
I’m off now to find something warm to wear and maybe browse a few blogs while doing laundry. Maybe I’ll even visit a few of y’all.
Cold or not, I’m off for the next few days and I’ve got tons of stuff to do. One of the need-to-dos is the yard but that’s gotta wait until the temp rises a few degrees. My new dog (that I rescued from the truck stop parking lot near work) has dragged home all the neighbors’ garbage. He doesn’t get in my trash, just collects stray shoes and clothing and cans from somewhere else and brings it to me. Maybe he thinks that I need more stuff or else it’s all supposed to be presents. Who knows what goes on in his adorable pointy little head?
I’m off now to find something warm to wear and maybe browse a few blogs while doing laundry. Maybe I’ll even visit a few of y’all.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
HONEY, I'M HOME
It’s been one of those weeks, and not in a good way. My allergies have been kicking my ass from all the pollen in the air (yellow dust all over the place, I had to run the wipers to clear my windshield before leaving the house). I’ve got bloodshot eyes and I’ve blew my poor nose so many times that I’ve suffered nose bleeds a couple of times, plus the constant tissue contact has made me look like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer! Scarlet laced eyes, crimson nose, not a good look for an old woman; plus they don’t go well with the double chin and chipmunk cheeks.
Now that the rain has hit maybe my ruby colored snout will get better. I went grocery shopping in the sunshine and just as I walked out the exit the heavens opened and a solid sheet of rain poured down. I looked like a drowned rat by the time I got to the car and was dripping wet after getting everything in the trunk. The pollen was making golden ripples on top of the water running across the parking lot; I’m hoping that the air has been washed clean as well. I’m home now; the thunder is rolling, the rain is pounding on the roof and the TV is ranting about hail and possible tornadoes. Ah, life in the glorious South.
Tuesday I went to the funeral home for 2 different neighbors. They lived right across the road from each other and died on the same day (who would have thunk it). One had been sick for a long time and the other guy broke his ankle and died from a blood clot. I grew up with their kids and renewed several friendships at the funeral home, not the best place to run up on old friends but what can you do?
I need to go do some housework now, gotta go back to work tomorrow night and when I’m working all I do is work and sleep. I usually cook a lot on my off days and load the fridge so I can grab and go and not eat a lot of takeout. Hope y’all are all well and I’ll try to do better at the blog posting thingy.
Now that the rain has hit maybe my ruby colored snout will get better. I went grocery shopping in the sunshine and just as I walked out the exit the heavens opened and a solid sheet of rain poured down. I looked like a drowned rat by the time I got to the car and was dripping wet after getting everything in the trunk. The pollen was making golden ripples on top of the water running across the parking lot; I’m hoping that the air has been washed clean as well. I’m home now; the thunder is rolling, the rain is pounding on the roof and the TV is ranting about hail and possible tornadoes. Ah, life in the glorious South.
Tuesday I went to the funeral home for 2 different neighbors. They lived right across the road from each other and died on the same day (who would have thunk it). One had been sick for a long time and the other guy broke his ankle and died from a blood clot. I grew up with their kids and renewed several friendships at the funeral home, not the best place to run up on old friends but what can you do?
I need to go do some housework now, gotta go back to work tomorrow night and when I’m working all I do is work and sleep. I usually cook a lot on my off days and load the fridge so I can grab and go and not eat a lot of takeout. Hope y’all are all well and I’ll try to do better at the blog posting thingy.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
The Internet: Google’s hidden secrets
Here's a few more Google Goodies.
Google.org/flutrends is an “early-warning system” for flu outbreaks. By collating data on flu-related Google searches, the service compiles a state-by-state, “color-coded” breakdown of estimated flu activity.
Mail.google.com/mail/#settings/labs features add-ons for Google Mail. One, “Mail Goggles,” stymies drunken e-mailing, blocking access at certain times until you’ve “answered five mental math problems in 60 seconds.”Google.com/alerts is a free “personal clipping service.” Type in a search phrase—your name or company, for instance—to receive an e-mail whenever the term’s mentioned online.
Reader.google.com lets you “subscribe” to sites that cover your favorite topics, and then will deliver their text to you daily, “all nicely congregated on a single page."
Source: The New York Times
Saturday, February 14, 2009
AND I QUOTE:
I've never been one to fear my own death. Not that I want to die, of course. I've just always seen death as a lights-out proposition. You're gone. Either it's the end of you ... or it's a beginning. Either way, I don't imagine there's much looking back. I've never bought the whole fire-and-brimstone thing, the concept of reward or punishment at death. The idea that a tally has been kept of our good or evil or mediocre deeds, and that the soul is filed away accordingly for all eternity, just doesn't ring true. Humans judge that way. I tend to think that God probably doesn't. He or she just keeps doling out the lessons with endless patience until you finally "get it" in this life or the next.
"Sliver of Truth" by Lisa Unger
Thursday, November 27, 2008
THANKSGIVING REPEAT POST
Happy Thanksgiving y'all. Today's pretty busy here at work, so I'm gonna repeat one of my favorite posts. I know most of y'all have already read this, but it fits right in with the giving thanks theme.
WHERE I'M FROM
I'm from home-made dresses sewn on Mom's Singer sewing machine with loving hands, patched jeans, bare feet and cousin's hand-me-downs.
I'm from white frame houses beside sway-backed barns on dusty back roads, party lines, baths in a #10 wash tub set in the kitchen floor and window fans stirring humid summer air while little girls turn a TV antenna trying to locate one of the three local stations
I'm from spring-fed creeks, hills and hollers veiled with woods, Tarzan vines and wild flowers; rural mysteries, dreams and adventures just waiting to be found.
I'm from Grady and Elsie, Don and Byrd, Wayne and Ruth; hard headed, hard working, hard loving people who raised 5 girls with whippings and hugs dealt out in equal measure.
I'm from an Amazon tribe of 5 sisters who fought and scratched and battled each other but presented a united front to any outsider who dared to cross one of us.
I'm from dancing for joy under an outdoor shower made from an old bucket full of holes, hung overhead and the water hose stuffed in it; tire swings and tree houses and camping under the stars.
I'm from Baptists with creek-side dunkings and Church of Christs who claim to be "the only ones"; purple Kool-Aid and cookies at Vacation Bible School and pictures made of glued-on pasta in Sunday School.
I'm from Moulton on the edge of Bankhead Forest in the north of Alabama, with the blood of Cherokee Nations, Black Dutch, Germans, Irish Immigrants, and Mayflower Pilgrims running through my veins.
I'm from sweet tea, corn bread with real butter, mac and cheese, peach cobbler and fresh garden vegetables raised in the back yard along with banana kisses, Vienna sausages and Mountain Dews devoured at Bass's service station.
I'm from Teresa who threw a match in gas and lived to tell about it, Tina with the red-headed temper, Donna, my sidekick who always followed me and Karen around and Lana who'll always be "PeeWee" to the rest of us.
I'm from Dad who quit school in the 6th grade and got an education in the air force and Mom, who met him on a blind-date and eloped with him 10 days later; a True Romance story for the ages.
I'm from goofy school photos featuring missing teeth and messy hair, candid snapshots made with an old Brownie camera showing little girls with skinny legs and big smiles, all stuffed out of sight in drawers and closets and the bench of Mom's old piano.
I'm from a wild neighborhood posse of boys and girls who roamed for miles on horseback, getting drunk on vodka bought from the local bootlegger & paid for by picking up drink bottles from the side of the road, teaching each other how to kiss, scaring each other to death with seances and graveyard stories, fighting with and for each other all through childhood.
I'm from The South with our slow talking, sweet sounding accents, folks who are so friendly we'll speak and wave at friends or strangers, where everyone's raised to have manners and use them--even on those that don't deserve to be Sir'ed and Mam'ed.
I'm from home-made dresses sewn on Mom's Singer sewing machine with loving hands, patched jeans, bare feet and cousin's hand-me-downs.
I'm from white frame houses beside sway-backed barns on dusty back roads, party lines, baths in a #10 wash tub set in the kitchen floor and window fans stirring humid summer air while little girls turn a TV antenna trying to locate one of the three local stations
I'm from spring-fed creeks, hills and hollers veiled with woods, Tarzan vines and wild flowers; rural mysteries, dreams and adventures just waiting to be found.
I'm from Grady and Elsie, Don and Byrd, Wayne and Ruth; hard headed, hard working, hard loving people who raised 5 girls with whippings and hugs dealt out in equal measure.
I'm from an Amazon tribe of 5 sisters who fought and scratched and battled each other but presented a united front to any outsider who dared to cross one of us.
I'm from dancing for joy under an outdoor shower made from an old bucket full of holes, hung overhead and the water hose stuffed in it; tire swings and tree houses and camping under the stars.
I'm from Baptists with creek-side dunkings and Church of Christs who claim to be "the only ones"; purple Kool-Aid and cookies at Vacation Bible School and pictures made of glued-on pasta in Sunday School.
I'm from Moulton on the edge of Bankhead Forest in the north of Alabama, with the blood of Cherokee Nations, Black Dutch, Germans, Irish Immigrants, and Mayflower Pilgrims running through my veins.
I'm from sweet tea, corn bread with real butter, mac and cheese, peach cobbler and fresh garden vegetables raised in the back yard along with banana kisses, Vienna sausages and Mountain Dews devoured at Bass's service station.
I'm from Teresa who threw a match in gas and lived to tell about it, Tina with the red-headed temper, Donna, my sidekick who always followed me and Karen around and Lana who'll always be "PeeWee" to the rest of us.
I'm from Dad who quit school in the 6th grade and got an education in the air force and Mom, who met him on a blind-date and eloped with him 10 days later; a True Romance story for the ages.
I'm from goofy school photos featuring missing teeth and messy hair, candid snapshots made with an old Brownie camera showing little girls with skinny legs and big smiles, all stuffed out of sight in drawers and closets and the bench of Mom's old piano.
I'm from a wild neighborhood posse of boys and girls who roamed for miles on horseback, getting drunk on vodka bought from the local bootlegger & paid for by picking up drink bottles from the side of the road, teaching each other how to kiss, scaring each other to death with seances and graveyard stories, fighting with and for each other all through childhood.
I'm from The South with our slow talking, sweet sounding accents, folks who are so friendly we'll speak and wave at friends or strangers, where everyone's raised to have manners and use them--even on those that don't deserve to be Sir'ed and Mam'ed.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT
Forget third world countries, this article in Fox News is scary and happening right here on our very own door step. The opening paragraph says it all:
Go and read the rest for yourselves. With the economy failing, companies closing all over and people losing their homes no matter how hard they try going hungru is something one might have expected to hear, but this report was for last year and things are much worse now than it was then.
Here's the holidays knocking on our doors, and while most of us are buying turkeys and planning menus "Tiny Tim" down the street is scraping the bottom of the peanut butter jar while his mom cries in helplessness.
Wonder how many little ones are going to bed hungry tonight?
.
WASHINGTON — Some 691,000 children went hungry in the U.S. sometime in 2007, while close to one in eight Americans struggled to feed themselves adequately even before this year's sharp economic downtown, the Agriculture Department reported Monday
Go and read the rest for yourselves. With the economy failing, companies closing all over and people losing their homes no matter how hard they try going hungru is something one might have expected to hear, but this report was for last year and things are much worse now than it was then.
Here's the holidays knocking on our doors, and while most of us are buying turkeys and planning menus "Tiny Tim" down the street is scraping the bottom of the peanut butter jar while his mom cries in helplessness.
Wonder how many little ones are going to bed hungry tonight?
Friday, November 14, 2008
STORE CLOSINGS AFND LAYOFFS
I got this in an email from a friend and thought it worth passing on. If you have gift cards, hurry up and use them!!
Ann Taylor closing 117 stores nationwide. A company spokeswoman said the company hasn't revealed which stores will be shuttered. It will let the stores that will close this fiscal year know over the next month.
Bombay Company: (Freehold Mall store closed) The company unveiled plans to close all 384 U.S.-based Bombay Company stores. The company's online storefront has discontinued operations.
Women's retailer Cache announced that it is closing 20 to 23 stores this
year.
Circuit City - Initial statements suggest that 150 of Circuit City 's 1484 stores in the US and Canada may be shut down. In addition to the closings, Circuit City may be liquidating up to $350 million in inventory, likely at fire sale pricing.
CompUSA (CLOSED) clarifies details on store closings. Any extended warranties purchased for products through CompUSA will be honored by a third-party provider, Assurant Solutions. Gift cards, rain checks, and rebates purchased prior to December 12 can be redeemed at any time during the final sale. For those who have a gadget currently in for service with CompUSA, the repair will be completed and the gadget will be returned to owners.
Dillard's to close more stores. Dillard's Inc. said it will continue to focus on closing under performing stores, reducing expenses and improving its merchandise in 2008. At the company's annual shareholder meeting, CEO William Dillard II said the company will close another six under performing stores this year.
Disney Store owner has the right to close 98 stores. The Walt Disney Company announced it acquired about 220 Disney Stores from subsidiaries of The Children's Place Retail Stores. The exact number of stores acquired will depend on negotiations with landlords. Those subsidiaries of Children's Place filed for bankruptcy protection in late March. Walt Disney, in the news release, said it has also obtained the right to close about 98 Disney Stores in the U.S. The press release didn't list those stores.
Eddie Bauer to close more stores. Eddie Bauer has already closed 27 shops in the first quarter and plans to close up to two more outlet stores by the end of the year.
Ethan Allen Interiors: The company announced plans to close 12 of 300+ stores in an effort to cut costs.
Foot Locker to close 140 stores. In the company press release and during its conference call with analysts today, it did not specify where the future store closures - all planned in fiscal 2008 - will be. The company could not be mmediately reached for comment
Gap Inc. closing 85 stores. In addition to its namesake chain, Gap also owns Old Navy and Banana Republic . The company said the closures - all planned for fiscal 2008 - will be weighted toward the Gap brand.
Home Depot store closings. ( E. Brunswick , Rt 18 just put up their closing sign) ATLANTA - Nearly 7+ months after its chief executive said there were no plans to cut the number of its core retail stores, The Home Depot Inc. announced Thursday that it is shuttering 15 of them amid a slumpingU.S. economy and housing market. The move will affect 1,300 employees. It is the first time the world's largest home improvement store chain has ever closed a flagship store for performance reasons. Its shares rose almost 5 percent. The Atlanta-based company said the under performing U.S. stores being closed represents less than 1 percent of its existing stores. They will be shuttered within the next two months.
J. C. Penney, Lowe's and Office Depot are scaling back.
KB Toys posted a list of 356 stores that it is closing around the United States as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. To see the list of store closings, go to the KB Toys Information web site, and click on Press Information.
Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherines closing 150 stores nationwide. The owner of retailers Lane Bryant , Fashion Bug , Catherine's Plus Sizes will close about 150 under performing stores this year. The company hasn't provided a list of specific store closures and can't say when it will offer that info, spokeswoman Brooke Perry said today.
Goodbye Levitz - closed already. The furniture retailer, which is going out of business. Levitz first announced it was going out of business and closing all 76 of its stores in December. The retailer dates back to 1910 when Richard Levitz opened his first furniture store in Lebanon , PA. In the 1960's, the warehouse/showroom concept brought Levitz to the forefront of the furniture industry. The local Levitz closures will follow the shutdown of Bombay (see above).
Gift retailer Lillian Vernon, based in Virginia Beach , Va. , said it will evaluate whether to sell itself.
Linens 'n' Things - Earlier this week, Linens 'N Things backed out of restructuring plans that included some store closures and decided to shut its remaining 371 stores in 48 states.
Macy's - 9 stores
Mervyns - Mervyns, the 59-year-old department store chain based inHayward, is closing up shop. The ailing retailer, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July and planned to close 26 stores, said Friday it now plans to liquidate its remaining 149 locations and shutter the business after the holiday season. "We are disappointed with this outcome but the company's declining liquidity position and the extremely challenging retail environment, together with the fact that we have exhausted all other possibilities, requires that we take this action," said John Goodman, Mervyns' chief executive, in a statement.
Movie Gallery - 160 stores as part of reorganization plan to exit bankruptcy The video rental company plans to close 400 of 3,500 Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video stores in addition to the 520 locations the video rental chain closed last fall.
Pacific Sunwear will close its 154 Demo stores after a review of strategic alternatives for the urban-apparel brand. Seventy-four under performing demo stores closed last May.
Pep Boys - 33 stores
Sharper Image: The company recently filed for bankruptcy protection and announced that 90 of its 184 stores are closing. The retailer will still operate 94 stores to pay off debts, but 90 of these stores have performed poorly and also may close.
Sprint Nextel - 125 retail locations. New Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse appears to have inherited a company bleeding subscribers by the thousands, and will now officially be dropping the ax on 4,000 employees and 125 retail locations. Amid the loss of 639,000 postpaid customers in the fourth quarter Sprint will be cutting a total of 6.7% of its work force (following the 5 000 layoffs last year) and 8% of company-owned brick-and-mortar stores, while remaining mute on other rumors that it will consolidate its headquarters in Kansas . Sprint Nextel shares are down $2.89, or nearly 25%, at the time of this writing.
Steve & Barry's Earlier this month, Steve & Barry's LLC, once a growing force in low-priced fashion, filed for Chapter 11. Steve & Barry's, which has 276stores in 39 states, tossed itself into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the latest victim of a steep downturn in the retail sector and tighter credit markets. Mall owners have delayed reimbursing the discount fashion chain for store-opening expenses, further constricting its cash flow, the company said
Talbot's, J. Jill closing stores. About a month ago, Talbot's announced that it will be shuttering all 78 of its kids and men's stores. Now the company says it will close another 22 under performing stores.. The 22 stores will be a mix of Talbot's women's and J. Jill , another chain it owns The closures will occur this fiscal year, according to a company press release.
Wickes is going out of business. Wickes Furniture is going out of business and closing all of its stores, Wickes, a 37-year-old retailer that targets middle-income customers, filed for bankruptcy protection last month. They have already closed the Minnesota stores.
Wilsons the Leather Experts - 158 stores.
Zales, Piercing Pagoda closing stores. The owner of Zales and Piercing Pagoda previously said it plans to close 82 stores by July 31. Today, it announced that it is closing another 23 under performing stores. The company said it's not providing a list of specific store closures. Of the 105 locations planned for closure, 50 are kiosks and 55 are stores.
Ann Taylor closing 117 stores nationwide. A company spokeswoman said the company hasn't revealed which stores will be shuttered. It will let the stores that will close this fiscal year know over the next month.
Bombay Company: (Freehold Mall store closed) The company unveiled plans to close all 384 U.S.-based Bombay Company stores. The company's online storefront has discontinued operations.
Women's retailer Cache announced that it is closing 20 to 23 stores this
year.
Circuit City - Initial statements suggest that 150 of Circuit City 's 1484 stores in the US and Canada may be shut down. In addition to the closings, Circuit City may be liquidating up to $350 million in inventory, likely at fire sale pricing.
CompUSA (CLOSED) clarifies details on store closings. Any extended warranties purchased for products through CompUSA will be honored by a third-party provider, Assurant Solutions. Gift cards, rain checks, and rebates purchased prior to December 12 can be redeemed at any time during the final sale. For those who have a gadget currently in for service with CompUSA, the repair will be completed and the gadget will be returned to owners.
Dillard's to close more stores. Dillard's Inc. said it will continue to focus on closing under performing stores, reducing expenses and improving its merchandise in 2008. At the company's annual shareholder meeting, CEO William Dillard II said the company will close another six under performing stores this year.
Disney Store owner has the right to close 98 stores. The Walt Disney Company announced it acquired about 220 Disney Stores from subsidiaries of The Children's Place Retail Stores. The exact number of stores acquired will depend on negotiations with landlords. Those subsidiaries of Children's Place filed for bankruptcy protection in late March. Walt Disney, in the news release, said it has also obtained the right to close about 98 Disney Stores in the U.S. The press release didn't list those stores.
Eddie Bauer to close more stores. Eddie Bauer has already closed 27 shops in the first quarter and plans to close up to two more outlet stores by the end of the year.
Ethan Allen Interiors: The company announced plans to close 12 of 300+ stores in an effort to cut costs.
Foot Locker to close 140 stores. In the company press release and during its conference call with analysts today, it did not specify where the future store closures - all planned in fiscal 2008 - will be. The company could not be mmediately reached for comment
Gap Inc. closing 85 stores. In addition to its namesake chain, Gap also owns Old Navy and Banana Republic . The company said the closures - all planned for fiscal 2008 - will be weighted toward the Gap brand.
Home Depot store closings. ( E. Brunswick , Rt 18 just put up their closing sign) ATLANTA - Nearly 7+ months after its chief executive said there were no plans to cut the number of its core retail stores, The Home Depot Inc. announced Thursday that it is shuttering 15 of them amid a slumpingU.S. economy and housing market. The move will affect 1,300 employees. It is the first time the world's largest home improvement store chain has ever closed a flagship store for performance reasons. Its shares rose almost 5 percent. The Atlanta-based company said the under performing U.S. stores being closed represents less than 1 percent of its existing stores. They will be shuttered within the next two months.
J. C. Penney, Lowe's and Office Depot are scaling back.
KB Toys posted a list of 356 stores that it is closing around the United States as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. To see the list of store closings, go to the KB Toys Information web site, and click on Press Information.
Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherines closing 150 stores nationwide. The owner of retailers Lane Bryant , Fashion Bug , Catherine's Plus Sizes will close about 150 under performing stores this year. The company hasn't provided a list of specific store closures and can't say when it will offer that info, spokeswoman Brooke Perry said today.
Goodbye Levitz - closed already. The furniture retailer, which is going out of business. Levitz first announced it was going out of business and closing all 76 of its stores in December. The retailer dates back to 1910 when Richard Levitz opened his first furniture store in Lebanon , PA. In the 1960's, the warehouse/showroom concept brought Levitz to the forefront of the furniture industry. The local Levitz closures will follow the shutdown of Bombay (see above).
Gift retailer Lillian Vernon, based in Virginia Beach , Va. , said it will evaluate whether to sell itself.
Linens 'n' Things - Earlier this week, Linens 'N Things backed out of restructuring plans that included some store closures and decided to shut its remaining 371 stores in 48 states.
Macy's - 9 stores
Mervyns - Mervyns, the 59-year-old department store chain based inHayward, is closing up shop. The ailing retailer, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July and planned to close 26 stores, said Friday it now plans to liquidate its remaining 149 locations and shutter the business after the holiday season. "We are disappointed with this outcome but the company's declining liquidity position and the extremely challenging retail environment, together with the fact that we have exhausted all other possibilities, requires that we take this action," said John Goodman, Mervyns' chief executive, in a statement.
Movie Gallery - 160 stores as part of reorganization plan to exit bankruptcy The video rental company plans to close 400 of 3,500 Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video stores in addition to the 520 locations the video rental chain closed last fall.
Pacific Sunwear will close its 154 Demo stores after a review of strategic alternatives for the urban-apparel brand. Seventy-four under performing demo stores closed last May.
Pep Boys - 33 stores
Sharper Image: The company recently filed for bankruptcy protection and announced that 90 of its 184 stores are closing. The retailer will still operate 94 stores to pay off debts, but 90 of these stores have performed poorly and also may close.
Sprint Nextel - 125 retail locations. New Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse appears to have inherited a company bleeding subscribers by the thousands, and will now officially be dropping the ax on 4,000 employees and 125 retail locations. Amid the loss of 639,000 postpaid customers in the fourth quarter Sprint will be cutting a total of 6.7% of its work force (following the 5 000 layoffs last year) and 8% of company-owned brick-and-mortar stores, while remaining mute on other rumors that it will consolidate its headquarters in Kansas . Sprint Nextel shares are down $2.89, or nearly 25%, at the time of this writing.
Steve & Barry's Earlier this month, Steve & Barry's LLC, once a growing force in low-priced fashion, filed for Chapter 11. Steve & Barry's, which has 276stores in 39 states, tossed itself into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the latest victim of a steep downturn in the retail sector and tighter credit markets. Mall owners have delayed reimbursing the discount fashion chain for store-opening expenses, further constricting its cash flow, the company said
Talbot's, J. Jill closing stores. About a month ago, Talbot's announced that it will be shuttering all 78 of its kids and men's stores. Now the company says it will close another 22 under performing stores.. The 22 stores will be a mix of Talbot's women's and J. Jill , another chain it owns The closures will occur this fiscal year, according to a company press release.
Wickes is going out of business. Wickes Furniture is going out of business and closing all of its stores, Wickes, a 37-year-old retailer that targets middle-income customers, filed for bankruptcy protection last month. They have already closed the Minnesota stores.
Wilsons the Leather Experts - 158 stores.
Zales, Piercing Pagoda closing stores. The owner of Zales and Piercing Pagoda previously said it plans to close 82 stores by July 31. Today, it announced that it is closing another 23 under performing stores. The company said it's not providing a list of specific store closures. Of the 105 locations planned for closure, 50 are kiosks and 55 are stores.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
HAPPY HAUNTING
Well, it’s official. My grandson is growing up to be a hard core, dyed in the wool, full blooded Alabama Redneck. When I left for work this afternoon he was perched in the top of a tree with his trusty B-B gun in hand and blowing like his life depended on it on an old duck call someone had given him. Now this wouldn’t be so funny except I don’t live anywhere near anything resembling a duck habitat and his call sounded like a duck that had personality issues or throat cancer or something. Oh well, at least he’s live entertainment for the squirrels.
Tomorrow is Halloween and I hope y’all have a good time. I have plans with friends to hit a haunted house, go out for dinner and then take in a horror movie. Then on Saturday several of us are dressing up and having a witch’s brew night with game playing, Bloody Champaign Mimosas and lots of laughs and giggles.
Happy Haunting Y’all. Hope you get treated and not tricked.
Tomorrow is Halloween and I hope y’all have a good time. I have plans with friends to hit a haunted house, go out for dinner and then take in a horror movie. Then on Saturday several of us are dressing up and having a witch’s brew night with game playing, Bloody Champaign Mimosas and lots of laughs and giggles.
Happy Haunting Y’all. Hope you get treated and not tricked.
Monday, October 20, 2008
WHAT'S THE VOTE?
I love this new widget! There are four icons you can put on any blog or web page. When a page containing one of them is loaded, the browser goes to this site to fetch the icon containing the current predictions. Clicking on the icon takes you to the site. Why don't ya go and get yours?
Friday, September 19, 2008
WORKING FOR A LIVING
Up at 3 AM, home anytime between 6 PM and 7 PM: every day, 7 days a week. This has been going on since I got home from Texas but I'm not gonna complain because I realize that I'm in better shape than a lot of other people. I know a lot of families making getting by on low wages who would love to be in my position. Yeah, I knew all this and more, but this article in MSNBC really opened my eyes. You should go read it and count your blessings. Here are a few highlights:
The article goes on about how an unbelievable number of folks have lost their homes. Being homeless no longer means being a drunk or drug addict who doesn't work much less bathe. It now means whole families who couldn't make their house payment sleeping in the family car.
Thankfully I have a good paying job and a home that's paid for. It's easy to complain about high gas prices and long work hours but sometimes we need to be reminded that we're lucky to have a job and a car to put gas in and a roof over our head when it rains.
We (and the rest of the world for that matter) think of America as the land of the entitled. When we see pictures of homeless people, starving children, people sleeping on the ground with no clothes and nothing to eat we think of a third world nation but Wake up folks, this is happening here in the USA!
Nearly 61 percent of local and state homeless coalitions say they've experienced a rise in homelessness since the foreclosure crisis began in 2007, according to a report by the National Coalition for the Homeless. The group says the problem has worsened since the report's release in April, with foreclosures mounting, gas and food prices rising and the job market tightening...........
*The relatively tony city of Santa Barbara has given over a parking lot to
people who sleep in cars and vans.
*The city of Fresno, Calif., is trying to manage several proliferating tent cities, including an encampment where people have made shelters out of scrap wood.
*In Portland, Ore., and Seattle, homeless advocacy groups have paired with nonprofits or faith-based groups to manage tent cities as outdoor shelters.
*Other cities where tent cities have either appeared or expanded include include Chattanooga, Tenn., San Diego, and Columbus, Ohio.
The article goes on about how an unbelievable number of folks have lost their homes. Being homeless no longer means being a drunk or drug addict who doesn't work much less bathe. It now means whole families who couldn't make their house payment sleeping in the family car.
Thankfully I have a good paying job and a home that's paid for. It's easy to complain about high gas prices and long work hours but sometimes we need to be reminded that we're lucky to have a job and a car to put gas in and a roof over our head when it rains.
We (and the rest of the world for that matter) think of America as the land of the entitled. When we see pictures of homeless people, starving children, people sleeping on the ground with no clothes and nothing to eat we think of a third world nation but Wake up folks, this is happening here in the USA!
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